Match Report

London Colney came to Pancake Lane having dropped to the bottom of the table on Tuesday night and in need of a result of some kind to stand a chance of avoiding relegation from the SSML Premier Division. In the end it was evident that they had much more to play for than the Leverstock Green side as they came away with a 3-1 win which was enough to see them leapfrog Holmer Green and clinch survival.

The visitors took the lead as early as the third minute, taking advantage of some too-casual defending from the Green side as Oscar Evans picked up a poor clearance and ran into the box to hit a shot past Alfie Bonfield at his near post.

Leverstock then had a spell of pressure, winning a series of corners. From one of them in the 10th minute a shot from Kian Wilkes was blocked on the line. However, in the 20th minute as a Leverstock attack broke down, London Colney broke away. Kambo Smith was allowed to run half the length of the field and eventually get to the bye-line where he pulled the ball back for Caleb Steele to slide in and score a simple second goal.

The nearest that the Green side came to pulling a goal back before the break was in the 28th minute when Rawn Seale got on the end of a Rio Beach free kick, but his header was saved by the keeper.

Early in the second half the Leverstock side looked much more of an attacking proposition. On 50 minutes Lewis Collins made a run into the box but his shot was blocked on the line. Four minutes later Seale was making a run into the box and was brought down. It looked like a penalty, but the referee awarded a free kick outside the box. Wilkes floated the ball into the six yard box, where Seale came in to shoot home from close range for his 18th goal of the season.

Leverstock were back in the game now and for a time looked capable of getting themselves back level, but on a rare attack from the visitors in the 67th minute, Smith was allowed to run at the defence again and shot home a third goal to put the visitors firmly back in control.

That was how the game ended, and the result proved to be enough for London Colney to stay up. It was a disappointing way for Leverstock to end an excellent season, but their final position of 8th is very much something to build on for next season.

Leverstock Green (0) 1 (Seale 56)
Team: 1. Alfie Bonfield, 2. Brad Robinson, 3. Rio Beach, 4. Temi Bankole (18. Scott McGleish 25 mins), 5. Paul Marks, 6. Kian Wilkes, 7. Lewis Collins, 8. Ryan Carruthers (14. Alfie Herd 79 mins), 9. Rawn Seale, 10. Nagheeb Ibrahim, 11. Elgeniy Daalberg (15. Sean Walsh 63 mins). Subs not used: 12. Jack Allen, 16. Callum Moore.
London Colney (2) 3 (Evans 3, Steele 20, Smith 67)
Team: 1. Harvey Simson, 2. Saeed Yusuf, 3. Jake Clarke, 4. Caleb Steele, 5. Aston Henry, 6. Jamel Rose, 7. Simeon Okora (12. Charles Opoku 64 mins), 8. Pijus Montvydas, 9. Kambo Smith (16. Julius Ilori 89 mins), 10. Oscar Evans, 11. Danny Fowler. Subs not used: 14. Maliki Brissett, 15. Conrad Holland, 17. Kentyn Calif.